Mirror Of Deception
Shards

An ordinary day. Boredom.

You dive into music.

An album like few others.

To be honest, "Mirrorsoil," the debut album of the band, did not inspire much hope for the future, quite the contrary. That was a typical doom album, one that you listen to without leaving a mark. The turning point came with "Foregone," the second album from the German combo, which saw the change behind the microphone: out went Mark Baumhauer, in came Michael Siffermann, definitely more suitable than his predecessor. "Foregone" marked the beginning of the new "era" for Mirror of Deception: the 80s atmospheres of the debut album were abandoned to make way for a fuller and, at the same time, more intimate sound.

The worthy follow-up to "Foregone" is represented by "Shards," released under the aegis of Cyclone Empire in 2006. The "shards" in the title refer to life's fragments, all those various kinds of problems that afflict man along his journey. In full doom tradition, expect lyrics of this kind, centered on reflecting upon the human condition, its fragility. Feelings are laid bare and sung through a style that many have labeled as "traditional," but that, in reality, proves to be quite varied: the sound of Michael Siffermann's and Jochen Fopp's guitars (the creator of the "Doom shall rise" festival) effortlessly transitions from purely doom/heavy in the Candlemass style to insertions with a thrashy flavor, while also featuring moments rich in pathos, so much so that epic/doom metal also makes an appearance.

The synthesis of these characteristics can be found from the outset with "Haunted", a shining gem of classic doom metal. A steady and no-frills rhythm gives way to guitar arpeggios only at the end. Stoner rock-flavored intro for "Ghost", which then evolves, articulating on decidedly heavier Sabbathian rhythms (who mentioned N.I.B?) In this way, it seems like Mirror of Deception have told us everything. It seems obvious that, at any moment, everything positive we have heard could fall into the most banal metal. Instead, "The Eruption" emphasizes once again, if there was still any doubt, that the band has assimilated the necessary experience to produce noteworthy albums. We are no longer facing the bare doom of "Mirrorsoil," but the overall sound has been refined, becoming increasingly "classic." If you really want more titles that hover under the wing of positivity, here are "Dead Pledge", "The Capital New", and "Frozen Fortune", which reaffirm the goodness of the album, which is aesthetically fascinating thanks to the beautiful cover design.

"Shards" is a container full of what doom has elaborated and presented over the past forty years or so. The German band reinterprets the genre with an offering that inevitably takes cues from the masters (Black Sabbath and Candlemass primarily) to arrive, with compositional simplicity, at originality that was, after the beginnings, at least unexpected. The demonstration that starting from the past, one can find the formula for the future, as long as everything is revisited by adhering to the classic/modernity dichotomy.

1. "Haunted" (5:42)
2. "Ghost" (5:34)
3. "Swamped" (5:01)
4. "The Eruption" (5:41)
5. "Insomnia" (5:53)
6. "Dead Pledge" (5:47)
7. "The Capital New" (5:48)
8. "Pyre" (5:48)
9. "Frozen Fortune" (6:33)
10. "Enigma" (3:42)